JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says it’s “possible” that President Donald Trump is like Queen Esther, who saved Jews in the Old Testament.

Pompeo made the statement in an interview with a Christian broadcast outlet this week on a trip to the Middle East.

The interviewer asked if Trump is “like Queen Esther,” who interceded with her husband to save Jews in what was then Persia and is now Iran. Trump has backed new sanctions on Iran aimed at reducing its ability to threaten Israel.

Pompeo said in response that “As a Christian, I certainly believe that’s possible.”

The secretary of state recently drew criticism for holding a briefing exclusively for “faith-based” journalists.

Pompeo on Friday vowed new measures against what he said was the “threat” from Iran.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump abruptly declared the U.S. will recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.

As a cadet, I studied the battles of the Golan. Israeli heroism there saved this great nation. @POTUS’ bold decision to recognize #Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights honors the sacrifices of the Israeli people and reality. It’s proper for this land to be part of Israel. pic.twitter.com/0HFWBYJFvL

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) March 22, 2019

The administration has been considering recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the strategic highlands, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967, for some time and Netanyahu had pressed the matter with visiting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just a day earlier.

U.S. and Israeli officials said Wednesday they had not expected a decision until next week, when Netanyahu is to visit the U.S.

But in a tweet that appeared to catch many by surprise, Trump said the time had come for the United States to take the step, which Netanyahu warmly welcomed as a “miracle” on the Jewish holiday of Purim.

After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 21, 2019

“After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!” Trump tweeted.

The U.S. will be the first country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, which the rest of the international community regards as disputed territory occupied by Israel whose status should be determined by negotiations between Israel and Syria. Attempts to bring Israel and Syria to the table have failed. It was not immediately clear how a U.N. peacekeeping force in the Golan might be affected by the U.S. move. That force’s mandate expires at the end of June.

There had been signals a decision was coming. Last week, in its annual human rights report, the State Department dropped the phrase “Israeli-occupied” from the Golan Heights section, instead calling it “Israeli-controlled.”

Pompeo had brushed questions about the change aside, insisting even earlier Thursday that there was no change in policy. However, in comments to reporters ahead of a Purim dinner with Netanyahu and his wife at their Jerusalem home, Pompeo hailed the shift.

“Tonight, President Trump made the decision to recognize that that hard-fought real estate, that important place, is proper to be a sovereign part of the state of Israel,” he said.

Netanyahu, who is embroiled in a fierce re-election campaign ahead of April 9 voting, smiled broadly while delivering his own remarks.

“We have the miracle of Purim,” he said. “Thank you President Trump.”

Netanyahu has for weeks been stepping up longstanding Israeli requests for the U.S. and others to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan. He has bolstered Israel’s traditional argument that the area has for all practical purposes been fully integrated into Israel by accusing Iran of trying to infiltrate terrorists from Syria into the plateau.

“At a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights,” Netanyahu tweeted.

Trump’s announcement came as Pompeo was wrapping up a two-day visit to Jerusalem during which he lauded warm ties with Israel, met with Netanyahu on at least three separate occasions and promised to step up pressure on Iran.

Pompeo’s events with Netanyahu included a visit to the Western Wall that made him the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the Jewish holy site with any Israeli leader and appeared to further signal the Trump administration’s support for Israel’s control of the contested city. Trump has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv, prompting the Palestinians to sever ties with the administration.

Pompeo’s presence also appeared to signal Trump’s support for Netanyahu the political candidate. Netanyahu, facing a tough challenge from a popular former military chief and reeling from a series of corruption allegations, has repeatedly sought to focus attention on his foreign policy record and strong ties with Trump.

“The Trump administration is absolutely endorsing Netanyahu,” said Alon Pinkas, former consul general of Israel in New York. “It’s very rare for a secretary of state to come visit an Israeli prime minister without any apparent diplomatic reason justifying it, without a peace process, without any regional agenda.”

Pompeo said his trip had nothing to do with politics or U.S. policy on Jerusalem, although for decades American officials refrained from visiting the Western Wall with Israeli leaders to avoid the appearance of recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the city’s most sensitive holy sites. Israel captured east Jerusalem and the Old City in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

“I’m going to stay far away from the decisions that the Israeli people will make here in a few weeks,” Pompeo told reporters. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for the U.S. secretary of state to comment on Israeli domestic politics.”

The Old City is home to the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where tradition says Jesus was entombed and resurrected. Pompeo, a Christian, also stopped at the church.

Next to the Western Wall is a hilltop compound revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The spot, which once housed the biblical Jewish Temples, is the holiest site in Judaism and today is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.

The competing claims to the site are a frequent source of tension and lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

When Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, he said it did not determine the city’s final borders. But the gesture was perceived as unfairly siding with Israel and prompted the Palestinians to cut contacts with U.S. officials. The Palestinians have already rejected a planned Mideast peace initiative by the administration.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Pompeo’s visit added additional obstacles to peace hopes. “While they are claiming to be trying to solve the conflict, such acts only make it more difficult to resolve,” he said.

While previous secretaries of state have traditionally met with the Palestinians when visiting the region, Pompeo has no such talks planned.

By Angel Tran
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA — When Deepal Patel was violently attacked by her husband, she was afraid, in danger and unsheltered, she said. She couldn’t return home to where the attack happened, and she had limited time and money to find a new and safer place. Patel reached out to her landlord for help, who gave her choices that weren’t “real options.”

She could either stay at the home where she was attacked, pay a $300 transfer fee for a new apartment in the same complex where she’d be responsible for the old and new lease, or buyout the lease.

“None of the options were safe nor were they affordable,” Patel said. “Worst of all, they gave my abuser power and control to continue victimizing me when I was fighting to get away.”

On Wednesday, March 6, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard a bill that would enact housing protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or stalking.

According to Senior Assistant Revisor of Statutes Jason Thompson, Senate Bill 150 would be a new section of law and consist of the following:

• Landlords cannot deny tenancy to someone because they are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or stalking.
• Landlords cannot evict tenants who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or stalking.
• Tenants are not liable for rent after they vacate the premises for the reasons listed.
• Tenants must provide a statement, court record or document to indicate that they qualify for protections.
• Any false information given could result in a denial of tenancy, eviction or violation.
• Landlords can impose a reasonable termination fee on tenants, but only if the fee is within the terms of the lease agreement.
• Definitions of “domestic violence,” “human trafficking,” “sexual assault,” and “stalking” are the same as in K.S.A 75-452, also known as the “Safe at Home” law where victims can obtain a substitute mailing address so they cannot be tracked.

Sen. Dinah Sykes (D-Johnson), the main sponsor of SB 150, said safe housing is crucial when victims are trying to leave a dangerous situation. She said there are existing housing protections for those who have been discriminated against for reasons such as race, sex or religion — and that it’s time to extend those protections.

Although there are many resources, they are not always permanent or available. Sykes said emergency shelters are often full and landlords can refuse housing because of a victim’s dangerous situation.

“Safe housing is an important step toward leaving an unsafe situation,” Sykes said. “The least we can do is make sure these victims are not discriminated against in housing when they do try and escape danger.”

Shannon Leeper, a detective for the Lenexa Police Department, worked with Deepal Patel on her case and also spoke in favor of the bill during the committee meeting.

“Not allowing a victim to break a rental lease without substantial cost re-victimizes them and substantially increases their chances of being seriously harmed,” she said.

According to Julie Donelon, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault in Kansas City, Missouri, about 55 percent of sexual assault attacks happen at or near the victim’s home, yet there are still no housing protections.

Donelon said victims face many consequences for breaking their leases and are often left with little to no choice. They may have to stay in their room or break their lease and damage their credit report and rental history, she said.

“This bill offers reliefs — emotionally, socially, and economically — to victims,” Donelon said.

Michelle McCormick, program director for the YWCA Center for Safety and Empowerment in Topeka, shared the story of an unnamed survivor who was abused twice at the same apartment complex even though she requested an emergency transfer to other housing. While the victim was hospitalized for a substantial time, McCormick said, she received a notice for eviction and “no grace or understanding from the apartment complex.”

“The chief strategy that [abusers] are using is to limit the options of their victims and survivors from getting to safety,” McCormick said. “This bill is an opportunity…to help create more options for safety.”

In addition to these testimonies, there were many others that echoed similar thoughts in support of the bill. Proponent testimonies came from organizations including the Westwood Police Department, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas Interfaith Action, United Community Services of Johnson County, Wichita Family Crisis Center, Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, Keep Girls Safe Foundation and The Associated Landlords of Kansas.

“My apartment community and my landlord betrayed me, and I was denied my safety,” Patel said. “Passing this bill could save lives, provide safety and shelter to women who are brave enough to leave.” Since then, Patel has obtained an order of protection from the District Court and has worked with the Lenexa Police Department to find safety from her abuser.

There were no opponents to the bill.

SB 150’s fiscal note reported that landlords would not be able to evict or refuse leasing to individuals that have been or are in imminent danger of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or stalking. Tenants would also not be liable for rent if they vacate the property for those reasons.

Although the bill would provide additional housing protections, the Office of Judicial Administration claimed that the bill would have a minor fiscal effect on the Judicial Branch’s operations.

The Kansas Senate just passed SB150 40-0. This is a great step forward in protecting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

— Dinah Sykes (@dinah_sykes) March 14, 2019

On March 14, the Senate took final action on the bill and passed it as amended. It was received and introduced by the House the following day. The House Judiciary Committee met for the bill hearing on March 19. No action was taken and nothing is scheduled for SB 150 as of March 21.

Angel Tran is a University of Kansas senior from Wichita majoring in journalism.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arkansas-based Tyson Foods is recalling more than 69,000 pounds (31,297 kilograms) of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips because they may be contaminated with pieces of metal.

The U.S. Agriculture Department said Thursday the products were produced on Nov. 30, 2018, and have a best if used by date of Nov. 30, 2019. The products have the establishment number “P-7221” on the back of their packages.

The USDA says it received two complaints about the metal, but there are no confirmed reports of anyone being injured.

The USDA is concerned the products could still be in freezers. Consumers should throw out the packages or return them to the place of purchase.

The recall comes after Tyson in January recalled some chicken nuggets because customers said they found pieces of “soft, blue rubber” inside.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Former Missouri Lt. Gov. Bill Phelps has died.

Officials at Ferry Funeral Home in Nevada, Missouri confirmed his Tuesday death. He was 84. No cause of death was given.

Phelps worked as a Kansas City attorney before being elected to the state House in 1960. He served as a state representative for 12 years until he was elected lieutenant governor in 1972. Voters re-elected him to another four-year term in 1976.

He earned the nickname “full-time” Phelps because of a campaign promise to serve fulltime as lieutenant governor, a job with few official duties. He gave up his work as an attorney after his election.

He lost the Republican nomination for governor in 1980 and later lost a bid for Congress in 1996 against former Democratic U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton.

By ROXANA HEGEMAN 

The Kansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday asked state officials to investigate after a black man was detained by police while moving into his home, then allegedly harassed for weeks and blocked by the police chief from filing a racial bias complaint with the department.

Karle Robinson, a 61-year-old Marine veteran, was held at gunpoint and handcuffed in August as he was carrying a television out of a rented moving van into the home he had bought a month earlier in Tonganoxie, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Kansas City.

“I’d like to see those cops and that chief lose their jobs because this was uncalled for — this is strictly racial profiling,” Robinson told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday.

He added that if he were white “we wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now.”

The ACLU of Kansas said in a news release that it was a case of “moving while black” and that the organization asked Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt to investigate the matter or refer the group’s complaint to the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training. The attorney general’s office said in an emailed statement that it has reviewed the ACLU’s letter and forwarded it to the commission in accordance with Kansas law.

“Mr. Robinson believes his detention was motivated by his race rather than a reasonable suspicion that he was committing a burglary,” Lauren Bonds, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas, said in the group’s release. “It also appears that the Chief of Police prevented Mr. Robinson from filing a credible, legitimate complaint and that is not in compliance with reporting and intake standards. He must not interfere with citizens registering complaints.”

The incident involving Robinson is one of the latest examples of situations in which law enforcement officers have had encounters or confrontations with African-Americans over their own belongings. In the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, city officials approved a $1.25 million settlement with a black man who sued after police tackled him and arrested him for stealing a car that turned out to be his own.

Tonganoxie Police Chief Greg Lawson said in an emailed statement that the department has fully cooperated with Robinson and the ACLU regarding inquiries into the incident.

“We believe that the ACLU’s correspondence to the Attorney General’s Office contains multiple accusations that are inaccurate,” Lawson said, without elaborating. He added that the department will cooperate with the attorney general or commission “if an investigation is deemed warranted.”

The chief said the safety of people who live in the town and those visiting it is important to the department, and the officers and other staff have all “pledged to serve the community with honor and the highest degree of professionalism.”

The town of 5,400 in northeastern Kansas is 97 percent white, census figures show.

In a letter dated Thursday to the attorney general’s office, the ACLU said police had also stopped Robinson hours earlier while he was driving to the home and gave him a warning citation. Robinson and the ACLU say it was for not having the rental van’s headlights turned on.

According to the letter, Robinson arrived at the home shortly after midnight on Aug. 19 and made numerous trips in and out of the house carrying items from the moving van parked outside. Robinson contends an officer passed his house five or six times over the course of two hours.

Around 2:30 a.m. as he was carrying in his TV, the last item out of the moving van, Robinson was approached by an officer who pulled into the driveway. During the incident, which was captured on police body camera, the officer drew his gun and told Robinson to put down the TV.

“I just bought this house,” said Robinson, who followed the officer’s order about the TV.

“You just bought this house and you’re moving in at 4 in the morning?” the officer said.

Robinson told the officer he had paperwork inside the home that would prove he was the owner.

The officer asked Robinson to walk toward the house and put his hands on his head. He then handcuffed Robinson.

Once backup arrived, the officer and a second officer entered the home, brought out the paperwork and took the handcuffs off Robinson. The officers helped Robinson carry the TV in the house after he asked them to.

Police told Robinson there had been a string of burglaries in the area. An officer can be heard on the body camera video apologizing to Robinson and saying, “If you look at the situation, I think, I think you get it.” The officers thanked Robinson for his cooperation.

Robinson, who is retired and volunteers as a radio DJ at a Kansas City radio station, told the AP on Thursday that he considered it “a half-hearted apology.”

“But I mean, that is not the point. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” he said.

The ACLU contends that public records show no reported burglaries in the area. And for weeks after the incident, according to Robinson, Tonganoxie police frequently patrolled around his block, parked their squad cars directly across the street almost every evening and on one occasion followed him from his home for more than 7 miles (11 kilometers) until he reached the highway. He claimed that Lawson, the police chief, also stopped him in October from filing a racial bias complaint about the Aug. 19 incident and the police presence afterward, which Robinson said amounted to surveillance.

He said the harassment stopped after he complained to The Kansas City Star.

“Each of these incidents would be concerning had they been alleged independently,” the ACLU said in the letter to the attorney general’s office. “Together, they suggest a pervasive culture of racial bias and systemic process failure within the Tonganoxie Police Department.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s top economic development official might have trouble keeping his job after a committee recommended that the Kansas Senate reject his appointment.

A two-day Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing for Acting Commerce Secretary David Toland turned bitter and partisan. Some Republicans questioned his credentials and criticized him over social media posts and comments during a Statehouse rally last year for Medicaid expansion.

The committee voted 6-5 against him Thursday.

Toland is from Iola and served as the unpaid treasurer for Kelly’s campaign for governor last year. He also earned national praise in 11 years as executive director of the economic development group Thrive Allen County.

The Senate’s rules require the full chamber to vote on confirming Toland despite the committee’s vote. Kelly is standing by him.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson declared a state of emergency Thursday following flooding that left several people stranded and continues to cause damage and strain levees in several Midwest states.

Parson’s action will allow state agencies to work directly with local officials responding to flooding. Parson, along with the state’s Emergency Management Agency director and other officials, plan to meet with local leaders and survey damage Thursday.

“The rising floodwaters are affecting more Missouri communities and farms, closing more roads and threatening levees, water treatment plants and other critical infrastructure,” Parson said in a statement. “We will continue to work closely with our local partners to assess needs and provide resources to help as Missourians continue this flood fight and as we work to assist one another.”

The emergency declaration comes after Missouri water patrol troopers worked into the night Wednesday, pulling four people from homes and three others from a boat that ran out of gas around the small town of Craig. People stacked sandbags at a nearby water treatment plant in Forest City on Thursday, while another levee breach across the river from Atchison, Kansas, threatened two towns where most residents had already left.

The flooding in Craig began after yet another levee breach, and several homes were inundated with water. A local ethanol plant was also shut down amid the flooding.

“People are trying to get items out and preparing for rising floodwaters,” Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jake Angle said. “You are going to see more reports coming out of breaches and water over the roadway as the day goes on.”

The Missouri River has swelled following heavy rains and snowmelt earlier this month. The flooding has claimed three lives, damaged thousands of homes and busted about 20 levees in Nebraska,Iowa and Missouri.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said water also was flowing over several other levees, including one near Missouri’s Bean Lake.

Deb Hooper, who lives near the lake, told KMBC-TV that she has been packing for a week and even removed the water heater, but she hopes to hold out.

“Last night, they came and told us it was, like, 2 inches (5 centimeters) below the levee,” she said, adding that she was warned to leave but declined. “I’m, like, ‘No, there ain’t no water yet.’”

In southwest Iowa, barriers protecting about 2,300 people and thousands of acres of farmland simply weren’t high enough to withstand the river, said Pat Sheldon, president of the Benton-Washington Levee District.

Sheldon told television station KNCY on Wednesday that the river levee “performed brilliantly for what it was designed to do, but it just sent more water at us than we had height.” He said it took $150 million to repair his district’s levees after flooding in 2011, but he estimates it could cost $500 million to do so after this year’s disaster.

In Missouri, the river was expected to crest Friday in St. Joseph at the third-highest flood level on record. Water was filling a casino parking lot in the city, though only about half a dozen homes in the city aren’t protected by a federal levee. Military planes were evacuated last week from nearby Rosecrans Air National Guard base.

The flooding has also taken a heavy toll on agriculture, inundating tens of thousands of acres, threatening stockpiled grain and killing livestock.

Nebraska’s governor said his state has suffered nearly $1.4 billion in estimated losses and damage, including $840 million in crop and cattle losses.

Members of the Nebraska Army National Guard used a helicopter Wednesday to drop 10 round hay bales to stranded cattle in various spots near Richland, which is about 80 miles west of Omaha.

Gov. Pete Ricketts also estimated that more than 2,000 homes and 341 businesses have been damaged or destroyed in Nebraska alone.

TOPEKA — Late Thursday morning, the Kansas House passed Medicaid expansion in 69-54 vote. The measure now moves to the State Senate for final approval.

The following statement is from Governor Laura Kelly.

“Today a bipartisan coalition in the Kansas House put politics aside and came together to pass Medicaid expansion. I’m proud of their work – and the work of so many advocates and citizens who worked tirelessly to make their voices heard on this issue.
“Medicaid expansion is one of the most critical issues impacting our state’s future. It will allow up to 150,000 more Kansans access to affordable healthcare, support local hospitals and clinics, and impact our economy for the better.
“Over 70 percent of Kansans support Medicaid expansion. I encourage the Kansas Senate to join me, this bipartisan coalition, business leaders and the overwhelming majority of Kansans in support of Medicaid expansion. The time for blocking progress has long since passed. Now is the time to expand Medicaid.”

————-
By JIM MCLEAN

A coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans powered past objections from conservative leaders in the Kansas House Wednesday to approve Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s Medicaid expansion proposal.

Albeit a slightly revised version.

“We’ve discussed this for five years, we absolutely cannot let this chance slip through our fingers,” said Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, a Kansas City Democrat.

In summary, the bill would:

•           Expand KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, to cover Kansans earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level — $17,236 for an individual or $35,535 for a family of four. The Kansas Health Institute estimates that 90,000 of the 130,000 Kansans expected to enroll would be non-disabled adults who are not currently eligible for KanCare. The remaining 40,000 would be children.

•           Require the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to refer all non-disabled adults who are unemployed or working fewer than 20 hours a week to a job training program.

Parents caring for young children would be exempt. The Commonwealth Fund estimated in a 2017 report that only 11 percent of Kansans likely to enroll in expansion coverage are unemployed. Some Republicans favor a “work requirement.” But Gov. Kelly says she won’t agree to one because it would be a “nightmare” to administer.

•           Establish a working group to identify additional revenue sources to offset the state’s share of expansion costs. The Affordable Care Act requires the federal government to fund no less than 90 percent of expansion costs. Expansion opponents fear budget pressures will eventually force a reduction in that funding. Should that happen, an amendment added to the bill during Wednesday’s debate would require state officials to repeal expansion.

Cost an issue

The governor’s budget office estimates that the state’s share of expansion costs in the first full year would be approximately $34 million.

A recent estimate by the Kansas Health Institute put the cost at $41.7 million. The lion’s share of that would come from “privilege fees” paid by the managed care organizations that administer KanCare and projected savings generated from using federal dollars to cover services and programs now funded by the state.

Neither the state nor the KHI estimate include a projection of how much economic activity triggered by an infusion of nearly $1 billion in additional federal Medicaid funding would increase state revenues. New research done by economists at Kansas State University indicates the spike in revenue would be nearly enough to cover the state’s share of expansion costs.

An amendment added to the bill at the urging of Rep. Troy Waymaster, the Republican chair of the House Appropriations Committee, would also help defray expansion costs by requiring beneficiaries to pay $25 a month for their coverage. Family premiums would be capped at $100 a month. Waymaster estimated the payments would generate between $26 million and $45 million a year.

What’s next

Assuming the expansion bill clears a final vote in the House, it would go to the Senate. Expansion advocates say they believe they have to votes to also pass it there, but the margin may be narrower.

However, both Senate President Susan Wagle and Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning are opposed to it.

Denning, an Overland Park Republican, has said in a recent interview he’d “be willing to have (a) conversation with the governor” about terms of expanding Medicaid.

Multiple polls showing that sizeable majorities of Kansas voters favor expansion should motivate Denning, Wagle and others to seek a compromise, Kelly said.

“This is something,” Kelly said, “they don’t want to be talking about next year in an election year.” 

Jim McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. 

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BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — The company that owns a duck boat that sank on a Missouri lake last year, killing 17 people , won’t operate the vessels this year and will instead open a replacement attraction in the tourist town of Branson.

Ripley Entertainment Suzanne Smagala-Potts announced plans for the new attraction, called Branson Top Op, on Thursday. She declined to comment on whether the boats would ever float again on Table Rock Lack, saying only that the company is focused on 2019 and hasn’t “looked in the future of what we may or may not do.”

The entertainment venue will include indoor laser tag and an interactive outdoor maze. It’s expected to open for Memorial Day weekend.

The company faces several lawsuits alleging that it launched the doomed boat despite warnings of severe weather.